Our Towns

A 100,000-Mile Journey into the Heart of America

By: James Fallows, Deborah Fallows

Narrated by: James Fallows, Deborah Fallows

Length: 15 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

National best seller.

A vivid, surprising portrait of the civic and economic reinvention taking place in America, town by town and generally out of view of the national media. A realistically positive and provocative view of the country between its coasts.

For the last five years, James and Deborah Fallows have been traveling across America in a single-engine prop airplane. Visiting dozens of towns, they have met hundreds of civic leaders, workers, immigrants, educators, environmentalists, artists, public servants, librarians, business people, city planners, students, and entrepreneurs to take the pulse and understand the prospects of places that usually draw notice only after a disaster or during a political campaign.

The America they saw is acutely conscious of its problems - from economic dislocation to the opioid scourge - but it is also crafting solutions, with a practical-minded determination at dramatic odds with the bitter paralysis of national politics. At times of dysfunction on a national level, reform possibilities have often arisen from the local level. The Fallowses describe America in the middle of one of these creative waves. Their view of the country is as complex and contradictory as America itself, but it also reflects the energy, the generosity and compassion, the dreams, and the determination of many who are in the midst of making things better. Our Towns is the story of their journey - and an account of a country busy remaking itself.

©2018 James Fallows and Deborah Fallows (P)2018 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“Our Towns will become a classic, joining the ranks of American odysseys from De Tocqueville to Dos Passos. The landscape unfurls beneath us; the language of different regions echoes in our ears. Most important, this book is a tonic for what ails us as a nation, a captivating story of energy and renewal across the land.” (Anne-Marie Slaughter, President & CEO, New America)

“In the tradition of John Steinbeck and Studs Terkel, the Fallows have crisscrossed the country in search of the extraordinary strength and character of ordinary people and places. What they’ve found - in towns we know and others off the beaten path - should give us all great hope for the future.” (California Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr.)

“An illuminating trip through ‘parts of the country generally missed by the media spotlight’….Writing with lively curiosity and open minds, the couple have created textured portraits of 29 American cities, from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to Allentown, Pennsylvania, and Eastport, Maine, to Redlands, California…. A well-reported, optimistic portrait of America’s future.” (Kirkus Reviews)

Great book for those in community leadership positions

Great insight into what makes great towns. Would recommend for those in leadership positions that want to make a difference in their communities.

Positively local

Cooperation at the local government level can work wonders. Very encouraging story.
Turn off the national news.

A big dive into what makes America great!

Jim and Debra Fallows are able to get at the heart of each town they visit by meeting not just the movers and shakers, but the doers, the workers, and makers. No politics, just a broad slice of what is right with our world!

Great book. Female voice hard to listen too.

Really positive good story and message. Female Narrator tough to hear. I do recommend book.

Fallows fanboi

As a radical moderate, I recommend this book as a palliative to the manufactured Manichaean vision for our country.

Uplifting narrative during uncertain time

This book was my go to, to escape fractious national politics news this summer. Hopeful, progressive bipartisan local movements, all over the USA. Authors should have had a professional reader, the only way I could deal with woman's monotone narration was to speed up to 1.20X. it took me a long time to finish , however overall recommended.

Every small town can learn from this book.

This book was very inspirational in making me see how to use the assets we already have.

Love James Fallows!

I enrolled in a University of Maryland overseas college course JF was teaching during his time in Japan. He was great - erudite, witty and gave me tips on how to improve my writing. But he actually praised me on my piece which was helpful - I thought it was pretty good but to have THE James Fallows compliment me was wonderful indeed. I even emailed him to say that he left out Hawaii for this book which was a serious oversight but alas, his plane cannot make it over the Pacific. I think he just needs to go there by commercial plane and rent a light plane to visit the islands. Anyway - love the concept of visiting the various towns in the US mainland but no offense, the narration could have used a little more polish. His wife is an expert in her field but narration is not her forte. Apologize again - her narration grated on my ears but I tried to focus on content. I get it that she was included in the book but...Sticking with JF would have made my review a 5.

Terrific book!

Other reviews have detailed the basics of this book. However it is more than just a fascinating travelogue. The smart and articulate authors explored and researched the towns they visited to find out what worked and what didn't. The result is a study that should be read and absorbed by civic leaders, planners, economic development types as well as citizens at large.

I listened to the Audible version which was read by the authors, but was so impressed I've ordered the book also. The story of the development of the book was featured on CBS's Sunday Morning last week. A terrific read, highly recommended!

Interesting Travelogue and sociological study

The book is well written and lays out what is working and what is not working in several different small cities in the USA. As a side benefit the book also highlights their travel experiences both on the ground and in their small plane. Really interesting perspective.